Vehicle Magnetics

If you need to add removable, reusable decals and livery to a car, van or other vehicle, magnetic sign panels are one of the best ways to do it. You can put them on and take them off easily. They last a long time, and do not damage the vehicle paintwork if looked after properly. They can be made to any size and shape and feature any colours or design. In short, they are a flexible attractive solution that’s hard to beat when you need an alternative to permanent car or van graphics.

Who Uses Car and Van Vehicle Magnets?

As they are removable, vehicle magnets are routinely used by people who only need decals on their vehicles at certain times. Many building contractors use them on cars and vans when they are working on behalf of a parent company, and wish to display the branding of that company during those times. People who are renting cars and vans and have an agreement that does not allow for permanent vehicle graphics also find use for them, as they cause no damage to the host vehicle and are thus allowed with no problems. Magnetic panels are also used to add display graphics to stationary vehicles when they’re being used as part of a static display such as an exhibition stand, either indoors or out. You’ll probably have a use for yours in mind – there are many more!

What Is Magnetic Vehicle Sheet?

Magnetic sheet is a rubber-based material and is made from recycled materials. It is 0.85mm thick, is flexible, and comes with a gloss white face ready to accept printed graphics. It comes to us on a roll, and we then cut it down to the sizes required for each job. We use vehicle grade material that has a pull force of 38g/cm2 which is enough to prevent the magnetic decals from falling off, while keeping them easy enough to move, remove and re-apply without any problems. Some manufacturers make a magnetic sheet with more pull force, but this is not necessary and makes them more expensive as well.

Our material suppliers have sold more than a million meters of magnetic sheet and have never had an instance where a vehicle magnetic has fallen off a vehicle when being used properly. That’s a pretty good record! Our material doesn’t use plasticisers, and only used strontium ferrite as the magnetic element, meaning that they pass the stringent European safety standard EN71, making them “toy safe”, as opposed to barium ferrite based materials offered by less scrupulous suppliers. In short, it’s the best.

How Do We Add Graphics to Magnetic Sheet?

To add graphics to the magnetic vehicle material, we first print onto a top quality outdoor grade digital vinyl before adding a gloss protective laminate. This top quality sticker is then applied to the magnetic material before trimming the whole piece to size. Using quality outdoor grade vinyl and laminate along with industry standard inks means that your signs will last in all weathers and resist fading over time.

Printing the graphics (as opposed to using cut vinyl) means that your magnetic panels can have any combination of images and text. Anything that can be designed and displayed on a computer screen can be printed onto your panels with no restriction on colours, and the cost is the same regardless of the design. Gone are the days of charging per letter!

How Fast Can I Go With Magnetic Signs?

Ah, the popular question of speed!

Well, as you would perhaps expect, the manufacturers of vehicle magnetic signs rate the material up to 70mph. They have no need to rate it any higher as of course it’s illegal to drive any faster than that in the UK. This rating assumes that the signs are fitted correctly – and this means placing them on flat parts of the vehicle’s bodywork, or parts that only curve one way, rather than an area that curves in two directions, like a sphere. Basically, all parts of the magnetic panel must be flat and smooth to the bodywork in all areas. If they are, you’ll be fine.

Will Vehicle Magnetics Damage My Paintwork?

This is a common misconception – that vehicle magnetics will damage your paintwork. If cared for properly this does not happen. To avoid any damage you must keep the back of the magnetic sign clean, along with the area of the vehicle that it is being applied to.

If a lot of dirt gets between the magnetic panel and the paintwork it can form an abrasive layer, and as the panel moves fractionally while going over bumps etc, the abrasive can rub at the paint. As you will now understand, regular cleaning stops this from happening completely.

Design For Customer Car & Van Signs

Good design for moving vehicles is based on a few factors that need to be considered carefully.

You’re usually aiming for your signs to be read by other motorists who may be moving quickly and sometimes in the opposite direction. This means that they won’t have long to read your signs, so it’s important to keep the messages and contact details punchy and to the point. The size of the sign will dictate how much space you’ve got for your text and images too, so don’t try to cram too much onto small panels. If your text is at least 72pt (1 inch) then it will be readable from a good distance. Obviously, this will improve as your text gets bigger.

From a design point of view many people request that the background colour of the magnetic signs matches their vehicle. In most cases, this is not advisable as an exact match is almost impossible. It is better instead to go for a contrasting colour, and this will help the signs to stand out better. White is the obvious exception to the rule – the white of the unprinted magnetic panel should be very similar to most white painted vehicles, although some are painted with a white that is a little warmer (more yellow) or cooler (more blue) so it’s best to check with a scrap piece of material.

Ad Bell Can Advise You!

At Ad Bell we know vehicle magnetics very well indeed. If you bring your vehicle to us we can tell you the best places to put panels, how big to make them, and what the best content for your design will be. Well design and positioned magnetic vehicle panels can do a great job for you and your business.